Hunter 26421 Architect Series Plus 52-Inch Ceiling Fan White With 5 Reversible Bleached Oak/White Blades

Bought this to replace a similar Harbor Breeze ceiling fan. It's on a fairly long down rod (probably 18"... reused old one), which makes any out of balance worse as the fan has more leverage to create wobble. Hunter does enclose a blade balancing kit, but I was surprised to not need it. The fan was better balanced straight out of the box than I've ever been able to get most fans balanced over the years with a balancing kit. With the fan on high, the pull chains hang straight down and don't sway at all from any wobble. Also the fan is very acceptably quiet, which is of course very important when trying to sleep on a quiet night when you can hear a pin drop. Only thing I can nit pick is I'd probably prefer would have been for the light kit to come separately, and for Hunter to offer more light kit choices. It comes with a 3 bulb, frosted buttercup globes fixture. Some people might prefer a 4 bulb design, different buttercup designs, or a large single globe design, which is why I'd prefer to purchase a light kit separately. We use the fan lights as the primary light source for a fairly large room, and the old fan had a 4 bulb light kit. Plus the fan comes with only 40w equivalent LED bulbs. So this was a substantial reduction in light output compared to the old fan/light. We noticed and realized this was likely going to be an issue before we bought the fan, but planned to buy 60w equivalent bulbs to compensate. We did that and are satisfied with the amount of light output. I could tell this Hunter fan was better designed than the Harbor Breeze as I was putting it up. Starting with the hanger bracket that connects to the ceiling junction box, it is wider and heavier made, and has rubber pads that become compressed against the ceiling, which helps it tighten more uniformly should the ceiling surface not be completely smooth, and helps dampen any wobble or vibration. Also the ball joint of the hanger is not a perfectly round ball shape. It is rounded, but also has a slight triangular shape, which matches the socket in the hanger bracket. So while that slight triangular ball/socket design still allows for any needed movement, it also creates somewhat of a little "detent" pressure to help keep the downrod in a straight down position. I suspect this design overcomes any slight blade imbalance, and is probably why the pull chains don't even sway at all even on high. Overall I'm very pleased with the purchase, and think it's excellent value for the cost. Bottom line is that I wouldn't do anything different if I had to do it over again.

I purchased two of these units, one to replace an existing ceiling fan and the other to install in place of a light fixture. I wanted a remote control unit for the second installation, which operates off of the old, single light switch. But despite the very clear product description, and even the prompt when reviewing to rate the remote control, this fan does not come with a remote control. (I did not read the reviews for this specific product page before ordering, because I found this page after almost purchasing this same product under a slightly different name for $20 more. The reviews for this product page make clear that the false representation about a remote are a long-standing problem.) The pros for this unit are that it balanced straight out of the box, it moves a lot of air, and it is quiet. It feels like about a 50% increase over the Craftman unit I replaced. I had some concerns about whether I would like its appearance, but find that it is attractive once installed. The cons (other than the false representation that the unit comes with a remote) are that it is a bit more time consuming to install than the ceiling fans that I have previously installed -- there are some fiddly aspects, like installing gaskets on the fan blades. I used the lessons from the first unit to save myself some aggravation for the second, by pre-installing some of the screws for the light module before hanging the motor. I decided to install the fan blades after hanging the motor, but would have considered attaching the blades first if I were working on a high ceiling rather than trying to install them overhead while standing on a ladder.

My wife wanted to get a White Ceiling Fan for our Sun Room, where we have a "White Theme". Looked around a few models and we both liked this one. For many years, we just used a pedestal fan in our Sun Room, finally decided to go for this model. It has been almost 3 months since we installed it. Wanted to wait for a few weeks before writing my comment on Amazon. The 52" blades have good sweep and provides good air circulation. Very quiet performance (some of the reviews, at different web pages, indicated "loud humming" noise, which is not true with our fan). If you do not wish to mount the lights, you may do so. If you change your mind and want to install the lights, you could do that too. The instruction manual gives multiple options of installing this (electrical perspective). Also, you could install this with different lengths of downrod, based on your ceiling height. I love the long length wires in the fan - as many a times the manufacturers give "real" short lengths and you end up running to Home Depot do buy some more wires. Very easy installation process, even for a novice handyman like me. I would call it more of "fun" type installation - which I enjoyed. Changed the 3 "candelabra" base bulbs with LED bulbs (LE Dimmable bulbs - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IXG3S0C?redirect=true&ref_=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_2), which consume less energy, yet gives the same amount of light. Now our Sun Room looks gorgeous with the quiet fan and wonderful LED bulbs!

Update 6-15-2018 I contacted Amazon to just get a replacement light kit. No dice. They referred me to manufacturer. We all know how that went. (20 minutes of phone hell, never reached a human, and finally got disconnected - Oh, how surprising!) I was still under 30 days (barely), so I started a return for the whole unit with Amazon, and then I ordered a whole new unit to replace it. Not about to uninstall the whole thing (mounted on a 14 ft ceiling), so I just took the light kit out of the new box and replaced the defective one, then returned the second fan unit, untouched, with the defective light kit, and a note saying not to resell the unit, unless they replace the light kit.. RETURNS WARNING: Not sure what's up with Amazon now, but used to be if a return was started before the 30 days, you still had a couple weeks to get it back to them. This time, I set up the return 29 days in, and the email they sent me said I had less than 24 hours to get it back to them, to get a refund. Ack! I called them, and they fixed it, but the way they fixed it, was to claim I was returning the second fan I'd just ordered - thus eliminating any 30 day window for returns on the new fan. I called them back, and said the first kit worked great on day one, too, but failed after 3 weeks, so I'd like to keep my option to return the second one in 30 days, if need be. They said they'd fix it, but it still shows I returned the second one, not the original fan, and it's been 2 weeks. Hopefully, I won't need to return this one, but Beware - they are getting tricky on returns, and read those emails, to be sure you still have time to return it, even if you started the return before the 30 days. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Update 6-3-2018: Light kit failed in just 3 weeks from install. Will update again, after attempts to resolve. ------------- Original Review --------------------- Just installed yesterday. Light kit and fan blades were harder than needed to be for install, but at the end, it's a nice looking fan & light, and mine works well so far. Pros: - Looks good overall. Color is crisp white, and the light kit has pretty, swirled design glass, that looks clean. - Light bulbs are the tiny candle kind, but they put out a surprising amount of light in my kitchen. - Moves a lot of air, and does so QUIETLY! Very quietly. - Easy electrical connectors for the light kit. Just snap together, no wire nuts. - Roomy fan housing, so the wires fit easily inside (and potentially any remote you might buy separately). - Extra long wires, so if you need a down-rod extension, it's great. I needed 4' extra, and didn't need to cut, or splice. - Good support bracket for holding it up while you connect the wires, especially with the down-rod extension. Cons: - Install is harder than it needs to be, so plan on cursing more than usual. - Screws are super short, and nearly impossible to get started, because your fingers can't hold them close enough to even start them. - Screw holes are not all pre-threaded, light kit is just punch holes, so plan on cursing more than usual! - Fan blades now require a rubber grommet to be installed, prior to screwing blades to their holders. - Grommets are quite the pain to install, and there are 15 of them, so plan on some time to do that. Overall, I like the fan/light kit. Once you get it installed, you'll be happy, and the price is right. You will be climbing up and down that ladder to find your screws that you dropped (a LOT), but if you learn from my mistakes, you'll pre-install all the screws for the light kit before you even get on that ladder. Don't assemble the kit, just get the screws in place - to open up the holes. They aren't threaded, so doing it on the floor is wildly better than doing it on a ladder, over your head. Once you've threaded the screws in, they'll come in and out a LOT easier, so when you are up there, you won't be fumbling/dropping/cursing quite as much as I was. FYI, I've installed about 15 ceiling fans in the last 35 yrs, and this was harder than some, easier than others. Just new ways to make it hard, but they're almost all a pain to install, one way or another.

I bought mine "like new" which looked more like someone opened the box and had second thoughts. No indication of a prior installation on any parts. Usually you can tell by some scratch in the finish or you know - opened hardware bags. The previous person seemed to have taken the manual and shredded it, as I did not have one. However, the install was decently straightforward without a manual. This is like a step up from IKEA furniture. And let's be honest, if you can't put together IKEA furniture then you've got middle management written all over you. Unfortunately, there is still a subtle hum that occurs every two or three seconds. Maybe when I get older, I won't notice it because old people can't hear well. We are all destined for it. The hum while evident is still way better than my old Bahama ceiling fan. I can at least fall asleep to the hum. And it's consistent. Unlike the jerk motorists that drive down my street.